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The FOI Advocate is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The blog relies on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. We will correct errors and inaccuracies when we become aware of them.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Nestle denied FDA access to certain records

FDA investigators were denied access to Nestle complaint logs, pest-control records and other records from 2004-2007, the AP reported. An FDA spokeswoman said companies are allow to decide what they will permit during an inspection.

Inspection reports from a Nestlé USA cookie dough factory released yesterday show the company declined several times in the past five years to provide Food and Drug Administration inspectors with complaint logs, pest-control records and other information.

The records, which date to 2004, were made public after Nestlé's Toll House refrigerated, prepackaged cookie dough was discovered to be the likely culprit in an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 69 people in 29 states, according to the latest estimates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC and the FDA are investigating the outbreak.

According to the reports released by the FDA, the company declined to allow agency investigators access to certain documents in at least 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.